The United States is experiencing the worst drug addiction epidemic in history. With a 30% increase in opioid related overdoses last year alone, regulators are increasingly trying to manage and mitigate this growing public health crisis.

As the FDA considers new policies to address the misuse of opioids, they recently held a public meeting on patient-focused drug development for chronic pain in order to gain the perspective of patients suffering from pain that is managed with analgesic medications such as opioids. During the meeting, it was evident that the FDA and patients alike continue to blame physicians for both escalating opioid use, as well as depriving patients’ access to drugs needed to treat pain. While physicians’ opinions are often ignored in the national conversation on the epidemic, we recently probed our physician community to see how they really feel about opioids.

As politicians debate curbing the delicate balancing act of medical need versus addiction, our survey showed us that physicians are clearly calling for a better solution to treat pain, as the crisis will only persist without alternative treatments. Learn more about what physicians, patients, and the FDA have to say about the epidemic from our Director of Community and Growth, Setareh Sanjabi’s, article on Becker’s Hospital Review.